Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Monitoring Monetary Policy

The Monitoring Monetary Policy interactive teaches visitors about key economic indicators and monetary policy tools used by the Fed to obtain growth and stability in our economy. Six videos, spanning each decade from the 1950s thru the 2000s, present visitors with a history of how monetary policy has been used in reaction to economic circumstances. The 2000’s decade video, produced by Westchester Media Works, LLC in coordination with Christine Fontana and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, examines circumstances during the 2000s decade and how they influenced monetary policy. The video highlights key events, beginning with fears over the Y2K bug at the beginning of the new century, to the dot-com bubble burst, 911, Enron and WorldCom bankruptcies, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, and the near collapse of the financial system after the housing bubble burst and the subprime mortgage crisis late in the decade.

Exhibit photo courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia